Games of War-Book One: Allegiance
by Knowing what fuzzy means
Summary: This war isn't about brute strength and bending, it's about tactics, who can outwit who, who can twist thoughts and change hearts. In this battle of manipulation, four teenagers find themselves unable to escape from the game designed to test their allegiance. Every action they take is connected to the fate of the world, but the question is, just how can they help the Avatar?
1. Who Can You Trust?

**Chapter One: Who Can You Trust?**

At the top of the world where the frigid wind blew in a constant glacial storm, the impenetrable walls of ice hid the city of the Northern Water Tribe from the view of the rest of the world. Safe behind the seemingly indestructible barrier, the invulnerable kingdom had long been one of the few sanctuaries left in the war torn world. It was the only place remaining where Waterbenders could practice their sacred art, with the exception of those of the Foggy Swamp hundreds of miles away to the south. The people of the Northern Tribe were determined for their home to remain a untouchable haven. Uncorrupted, safe, unharmed by the atrocities of the war.

Through the busy streets of the city carved from ice and snow, a single figure moved fast through the crowd. He went unnoticed for the most part, but those who did see him glared with clear hatred and distaste. A thick fur hood hid his face as he continued to walk briskly, seeming completely focused on his destination. He kept his head bowed, not wanting to look up at the risk making eye contact with any member of the crowd. He attempted to stick to the less crowded streets to avoid their judgmental, loathing gazes. It took him at least twenty minutes but eventually he reached the waterside of the grand metropolis. It was there that he found what, or more specifically who, he'd been looking for, a white haired girl that radiated the same beauty as her city. She didn't turn when he approached her, she didn't display any signs of having even noticed him, her eyes remained closed, her face peaceful and content to breath in the rich sea air.

Sitting dutifully by her side was a dark haired boy with similar facial features as the noble girl, remaining still, unmoving, seeming bored and grim, just waiting till she was done. His hair was just long enough to be pulled into a short ponytail, which was kept back in a small, blue metal band emblazoned with the symbol of the Water Tribes. He was tall with a naturally athletic build, not overly muscled per say, but he had a look in his eyes that suggested he was capable of ripping someone's head off should the situation call for it. The moment the other boy drew near however, he whipped around, looking ready to attack, before noticing who it was, rolling his stunning blue eyes heavily and nudging the girl beside him with obvious air of deferment.

'Yue, your pet salamander is here.'

The first boy simply bowed, ignoring the derogatory remark, saying respectfully, 'Princess Yue, Prince Leith.'

'You can stop with the Princess talk Raiden, it is just us,' the white haired girl laughed, seeming to give a look to her brother as if to tell him to behave.

'I really don't see why you're letting this slime-'

'Leith,' she said forcefully, the natural air of authority in her tone punching through.

Leith shot Raiden a sideways glare, but sullenly retreated into silence. Raiden simply ignored him; he was more than used to this kind of harsh treatment from not just Leith, but from a majority of the people within the Northern Water Tribe. There were several who would treat him with varying levels of tolerance and mild acceptance, but apart from Princess Yue, he didn't have anyone here who he truly considered a friend. One would have thought after the near three years he'd resided here they'd be used to having him around. He had an unfortunate feeling though that most of them would never truly accept his presence, even if he remained here until the day he died.

'So why have you come rushing to find me Raiden? You seem quite out of breath,' Yue asked kindly, smiling at him easily with clear fondness.

'Hm? Oh, I'm always out of breath here, it's too damn cold, but I thought I'd let you know I overheard some men from the fishing fleet talking and-'

'Spying as per usual?' came Leith's judgmental drawl.

'Leith,' Yue said forcefully, a clear signal for her brother to hold his tongue, 'what were you saying Raiden?'

'I heard them describing something they saw out there, and I'm pretty sure they were talking about a sky bison,' Raiden said excitedly, completely ignoring Yue's brother's comments.

'A Sky Bison?' Yue repeated, completely bewildered, 'Raiden, are you sure that you heard right?'

'A what?' Leith asked, seeming to be willing to break his facade for long enough to clarify what the topic of conversation was, 'Why do I have a feeling that's something I've blanked out from one of dad's lectures about nothing?'

'Actually it's something you must have ignored in our history lessons,' Yue chided.

'Can I help that they were so mind-numbingly dull?' he quipped.

'Sky bison were the original air benders, like the badger moles for the earthbenders,' she explained patiently.

'And of course the Moon for the Waterbenders,' Raiden reminded.

'Funny how you choose not to mention the whole dragon extermination thing,' Leith drawled scathingly.

Raiden simply ignored him, not reacting to his statement at all, 'The Sky Bison have long been thought to be extinct. Everyone presumed that they were exterminated with the Air Nomads.'

'Are you sure that was what they were talking about Raiden?' Yue asked, the excitement starting to sink in.

'White, fluffy, six legs, flying, enormous, it sounds like a sky bison to me,' he grinned, before returning the glare Leith was continuing to give him.

'So there's a sky bison flying around, so what?' Leith said skeptically.

'According to the Fishermen, if it keeps up its current course it will be within the limits of the Tribe by tonight,' Raiden beamed.

'Who would own a sky bison? I thought they were extinct, did they see a rider?' Yue questioned.

'I don't know. I didn't stick around to find out. I just heard that there was a sky bison, let's face it, they wouldn't have told me if I asked,' Raiden reminded.

'Yue,' Leith said, clearly tired of being in Raiden's presence, 'Let's go alert father, see if he can find out anything, if this is at all credible.'

Despite the clear cynicism in Leith's tone, Yue seemed to register his point, nodding to herself, 'Very well brother, I'll see you around Raiden,' she smiled gently, beginning to walk off with her brother remaining protectively by her side.

'See you later,' Raiden went to bow, but was stopped by her gentle glare, she hated how polite he insisted upon being.

Leith wrapped an arm around his sister's shoulders and steered her away firmly, shooting Raiden one final glare as he and Yue departed. His dislike of Raiden was all too clear, it almost seemed like he considered him a threat, but it didn't seem like it was to himself. It seemed almost like he'd decided was necessary for him to protect Yue from him. And no matter how many times Raiden tried to prove that he wasn't a threat and that he wouldn't harm her, Leith never once let up, he'd decided who Raiden was and wasn't letting it go any time soon. It always had been interesting to him how different the twins were. By this stage he had decided came down to one single fact he couldn't help but think Leith had always resented. Yue was the heir to the throne, and he wasn't.

...

It was drawing close to nightfall, the setting sun colouring the sky a dusky red, fading down to murky purple on the western horizon. Deep in the valley, hidden from view by immense stretches of trees and towering rocks it was already dark, the only light source coming from the freshly lit torches flickering among the city of tents. Inside one of the larger dwellings, a young woman was seated on a wicker mat, her eyes closed, deep in meditation. A single candle was placed in front of her, which seemed to flicker and dance in time with her slow, calm breaths. Shouts of concern echoing through the air made her lazily open one eye, which reflected the tiny dancing flame.

'What now?' she asked, not looking up as someone ran into her tent.

'Tyra there's someone approaching the valley, we don't know who but-'

'I'll handle it, just tell everyone to calm down,' she sighed, standing up, pushing back her thick locks, 'honestly, how are we supposed to remain hidden if all everyone does is freak out at every passerby who may not even know we're here?'

Huffing to herself as the man ran out, she grabbed her cloak, tossing it over her shoulders to block out the cold as she moved through the tents, dodging the scurrying people as she drew to the edge of the camp. Realising three of the warriors that worked with her had followed her out of the camp, she gestured to them to come to her as she asked instantly.

'Where is this mysterious stranger then? Show me,' Tyra ordered, every word ringing with natural authority.

One of the men pointed to a large figure on the horizon, making the girl's brow furrow as she squinted, trying to decipher what it was. As the figure drew nearer it became easier to distinguish certain features. It appeared to be a goat gorilla, an adult judging by its size, lumbering forward at top speed. What interested her though was its rider, it was still too far away and too dark to make out anything specific about them other than their small stature. But Tyra was not the kind to take any chances, but it should be easy enough for her to handle at the same time.

'Watch and learn boys, when I give the signal sedate the creature, I'll take out the rider,' she smirked, before taking off.

Running silently forward, she leapt up and in three short, lightning-fast strikes the rider collapsed, falling off the goat gorilla onto the ground, which made the creature howl protectively. At Tyra's call a man shot a sedative dart at the creature successfully knocking it out within a few moments, but not soon enough to stop it throwing Tyra from its back. The girl landed almost too easily on her feet, and flipped the rider over, examining her critically and coming to the conclusion she probably wasn't much of a threat after all.

The rider was a girl, in her mid to late teens, dressed in the typical clothes of an Earth Kingdom citizen. Upon closer examination though, she could see that the clothes were more than just average though, they were of a good make, and of far better materials, probably making her more on the richer side. That explained the goat gorilla and the expensive looking necklace which adorned her neck. Her hair was pure ebony, cascading in thick waves, tangled with brambles and sticks giving a pretty clear picture that she was running from something. She was only half way through her process when she was interrupted by someone approaching her.

'Who is she?'

'What, you think I know her?' Tyra smirked teasingly.

'You've been looking at her for all of ten seconds, so yes. Come on, take us through your process,' one of the men said hopefully, 'Who is she?'

'Beats me, Earth Kingdom by the dress, the facial features and the hair,' she began before opening the girls eyelids slightly and noting the vibrant green she nodded, saying, 'Yeah, the eyes as well. Probably a bender to, judging by the lack of shoes. Next to no signs of hard labour and she seems to be exhausted from traveling, so I'm going to say she's not a nomad or villager, probably a city girl. I'm guessing she's wealthy. I mean let's face it; the richer you are the more fascination you have with weird animals and this necklace is laden with emeralds... What does she have with her Joren? Pass me down her saddle-bag.'

One of the men who had accompanied her pulled the girls bag off the saddle, along with the dark green cloak, tossing them down to Tyra who rummaged through the pack, 'Nothing interesting really,' she murmured, 'just a change of clothes, water flask, flint, basic stuff... and a lot of rock candy... I'm guessing Omashu; they're obsessed with the stuff thanks to their nut of a King... What's this symbol? I'm not familiar with it... Dimitri, you're from Omashu right, what is this thing?'

The man who had sedated the creature drew forward, looking at the small emblem on the brooch that held the cloak together, 'That's the city symbol,' he said after a moment, staring at the well crafted gold, 'But you wouldn't get this sort of thing with any of the average citizens, she'd have to be a noble.'

'So a young earth bender girl, rich with a high status found hundreds of kilometers away from her home in Omashu with the family goat gorilla... I've got a really bad feeling about this,' Tyra concluded worry seeping across her features.

'You should,' Demitri said after a moment, 'I've never seen a goat gorilla that's tame before, except for one, and that belongs to the King of Omashu... and unless she's a thief, something bad must have happened there... and I don't think we're going to like it.'

...

In the throne room of the immense icicle palace in the Northern Water Tribe, the two siblings sat on thrones either side of their father as they began to explain to him what they'd heard from Raiden. The Chief had originally been apprehensive about believing something that came from Raiden, but after he had one of his assistants go to verify the sighting of what seemed to be a Sky Bison, he seemed very intrigued by the idea. He quizzed Yue on all the details, generally ignoring his son's inputs for the most part, clarifying every detail with his daughter before moving on.

'A Sky Bison on its way to the Northern Water tribe. My assistant also says that the fishermen saw riders, three to be exact. This is most strange,' the Chief mused, 'the Sky Bison haven't been seen since the Air Nomads were destroyed one hundred years ago. So who could have one all these generations later?'

'Yes father, that is why we were so intrigued when we heard about the creature,' Yue spoke calmly.

'Wouldn't a Sky Bison belong to an airbender?' Leith suddenly asked.

'Yes, I thought we had established that? But that's impossible in this lifetime,' Yue stated, her delicate features moulding into a frown.

'Well, the Avatar was supposed to be an Airbender wasn't he?' Leith questioned, 'He was alive at one stage, we know that he was supposed to finish up his airbending training and come here, it was agreed upon but the air temples were destroyed. We've never had any proof that the Avatar was destroyed, in fact we have had nothing but proof that he wasn't.'

Yue looked extremely intrigued, her bright eyes lighting up with hope but it took all of a split second for their father to make his judgement on what he thought of his sons statement, 'Impossible, the Avatar has been dead for a hundred years, he will not return. The cycle is broken. In any case if he had returned we would have received word by now.'

Leith was determined to get his point across regardless of his father's insistence, 'if you hadn't noticed father, the Northern Water tribe is somewhat isolated from the rest of the world. Word of anything always takes a while to reach us. Besides, why would the Fire Lord still be searching for him if he was dead?'

'Enough Leith. Would you care to fetch a hot drink for Yue? She seems a little flushed from the cold,' the Chief said, smiling fondly at his favourite child, outright ignoring his son.

Leith plastered a rather false smile across his face before nodding dutifully and saying, 'Of course father.'

Leith strode from the throne room, only allowing the forced smile to drop when he was outside the doors, 'go and fetch a drink indeed,' he said simply, allowing him that small chip away from his usual exterior of indifference.

A second later though, he whipped around violently, feeling himself being watched, eyes falling on someone standing nearby, the hatred spreading across his face as he looked at the person before him. His black hair had grown overlong, but he hadn't tied it back leaving the messy locks to hang in his golden, almond shaped eyes as if he was almost trying to hide them. His skin was extremely pale, but his body was well defined with muscles, broad shoulders with the overall frame of a fighter. He was dressed in the blue fur lined coats of the Water Tribe, but the garments looked odd on him, it seemed to make his skin look sickly and he seemed far more bundled up than anyone else in the city.

'What are you doing here Raiden?' Leith spat out.

Raiden showed no real reaction to Leith, he just shrugged, 'I was looking for Yue. Is she around?'

'She is talking with the Chief, I suggest you don't intrude,' he hissed angrily.

'Wow, what did he say to you this time? Usually even you don't sound this aggravated when talking to me,' Raiden commented.

'And why would the Princess's pet fire bender deserve to know that?' Leith said so violently that it almost took Raiden off guard for a moment.

'I was only asking a question,' Raiden muttered bitterly.

'You're not one of us and don't forget it. Why Yue puts up with you I'll never know,' he snapped before starting to walk off in the other direction.

He was stopped however by Raiden's rather unwise comment of, 'Maybe because unlike everyone else here she isn't utterly prejudiced and racist to someone who has done nothing but prove time and time again that they defy the stereotype.'

Leith froze mid step and whipped around to face Raiden, who seemed to realise that he had gone one step too far, yet again. There was a few seconds pause then Leith moved rapidly. With a flick of his wrist he conjured a long ribbon of water, allowing it to snake around his body for a moment, then he lashed out. His arm moved violently, and the ribbon of water snapped out like a whip, slapping Raiden backwards with a sharp crack, sending him flying several meters into one of the icy walls behind them, missing the window by mere inches.

Raiden slumped to the floor, dripping wet and winded, gritting his teeth to stop him reacting. Every ounce of pride, every shred of dignity, every fibre in his body wanted to put Leith in his place. He was doing everything he could to keep himself calm but it was all too clear that the waterbender was far from done. An icicle spear missed him by mere millimeters, as he was forced to drop all the way onto his stomach to avoid what had been clearly aimed at his head.

'Leith!'

The waterbender suddenly stopped his next attack, letting the water molecules drop to the ground as he turned to face his horrified sister, 'What?'

'What?! You were trying to kill him!' she shrieked.

'I think kill is a harsh term,' Leith said through his teeth, 'I think a more accurate term would be-'

'Oh, do not give me that speech,' Yue snapped, 'This is the fifth time in the last two months that you've tried to get him to firebend! I'm pretty sure you violently attacking him would be accepted by the terms of his asylum.'

'He deserved it,' Leith insisted stubbornly.

'How? What could he have done to deserve this sort of reaction from you?' Yue demanded harshly.

She stormed past her brother over to Raiden who was pushing himself up off the floor, shivering in his soaked clothes, and in an act of kindness that only Yue would have done in these temperatures, she removed her thick woolen jumper and began attempting to dry him off. But when Leith went to pull her away, clearly not liking this scenario, she slapped his hand away, giving him a rather betrayed look. Leith stopped in his tracks; he was used to Yue cooperating with him for the most part.

'I will not require you to guard me for the rest of the day Leith,' she said, the suppressed anger all too clear in her tone.

Leith wanted nothing more than to protest, but just seeing the look on Yue's face made him speechless. Instead he turned and briskly stormed away down one of the many hallways. Yue pulled Raiden shakily to his feet, still wrapping her jumper around him even when he tried to give it back. Eventually he gave her a stubborn look and breathed into his hands as if to warm them. A small flicker of fire was visible only to Yue as he tried to maintain his still plummeting core temperature.

'You really should stop doing that,' Yue sighed, looking at Raiden with a far from surprised smile, 'If anyone but me saw you doing it you'd be thrown over the wall to freeze to death.'

'I get the principle of me not being able to firebend within the walls, but this is just ridiculous, I've been here for nearly three years, you'd think they'd let me warm my hands when your homicidal brother attacks me,' he muttered the anger seeping into his tone despite his efforts to contain it.

Yue gave him a small, sympathetic smile, pushing back a fragment of her pristine white hair, and told him, 'You have asylum here, be grateful for that much.'

'I am, I just wish someone other than you trusted me...'

Yue sighed but pulling on his arm, 'Come on, let's get you dry and warmed up before you get frostbite, your hut should do the trick, you do keep it like a sauna in there.'

'Can I help that I'm not half snowman?'

...

Azumi crinkled her nose as she hazily started to resurface into the world of consciousness, slightly bewildered. The air smelt softly of incense, completely different to the sort that she was used to at her home. Her eyes flickered open and she blinked rapidly to try to clear her blurred vision so she could see her surroundings. She was in a tent, quite a large one at that, lit with dozens of candles and decorated with maps and wicker mats. Slowly she sat, tucking a slither of ebony hair off her face, eyes wide with confusion. It was then that she managed to process someone sitting not too far away, eyes closed, humming in deep meditation.

It was a girl, probably around sixteen or so, with skin as pale as the moon, and ribbons of hair that cradled her face and tumbled down her back in a brunette wave. She was dressed in clothes that seemed to have a fire nation design, which instantly set off alarm bells in Azumi's head. She was wearing a red, sleeveless shirt with a high neck and pants made out of a loose, light-weight material, and small red shoes that wouldn't have been out of place on a ballerina. Her body was slim and delicate, yet seemed to have obvious muscles to it, with scars, scuffs and bruises. Seeming to sense something moving near her, the meditating girl opened her eyes, revealing dove grey irises, overlarge and filled with an analyzing wisdom that was almost off-putting, yet seemed to radiate fractured innocence.

'Um... hi?' Azumi tried, the nerves pulsing through her system, knowing this could be an enemy from the fire nation, but something about the girl made her want to trust her, like she was different.

'Tell me your name,' the girl said simply, skipping any sort of chatter.

Hesitating for a second, she wondered if she should lie about her name, but after a while found there was very little point, 'my name is Azumi... who are you?'

'That is highly irrelevant under the circumstances. Why were you running from Omashu?'

'How do you know I'm from Omashu?' Azumi was perplexed as well as slightly scared, starting to feel the distrust seep through her system.

'The rock candy and the brooch were dead giveaways, why were you running?' the girls voice took on a much more authoritative tone.

Azumi looked at the girl with a mix of shock and fear, before suddenly realising something which took priority, 'Where's Flopsy?'

'The goat gorilla I'm assuming? I'll tell you that when you tell me why you were running off on what we're pretty sure belongs to the king of Omashu.'

'...My Uncle gave it to me before I fled,'Azumi began but Tyra didn't let her finish.

'Fleeing from what?'

'Don't you think it might be because your people have taken over?' Azumi growled, hatred filling her sweet voice

'My people? What are you talking about-...? Omashu has fallen...'she whispered in a strangled voice.

'...You didn't know?' Azumi stared at her before the girl nodded her head slightly, 'But... you're Fire Nation!'

'I'm not, I'm the opposite. I work with the resistance. Omashu has fallen... How did we not hear of this? King Bumi is one of our allies, he would have alerted us if there was a fight,' the girls said sounding haunted, pacing back and forth as she clambered to her feet, unable to remain still.

'There wasn't a fight. My Uncle surrendered to them when they arrived, but before they did he told me to run, he didn't want me caught up in it,' she said, sounding pained.

'He surrendered!?... Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up a step, uncle? Bumi is your uncle?'

'...Great uncle more accurately, and the surrendering is a neutral jin thing, don't ask, I get the principle but not why he'd choose now of all times to execute it.'

The girl looked at her for a long moment, before saying slowly, 'Okay, I've studied earthbending enough to know about the jin thing, but this is way more serious,' at this moment she got to her feet and yelled out the tent door, 'Someone get Wei Jun! I've got bad news, get him here now!'

'Who?' Azumi asked, 'What is going on here? Who are you? Where am I? Please, tell me something, anything!'

The girl looked back at her before explaining slowly, 'my name is Tyra, you're in the north western branch of the resistance against the Fire Nation. We gather intelligence, rehouse refugees, do anything we can to spite the Fire Lord and his army. Wei Jun is the leader of this division, but we have other groups all over the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes, as well as some hidden operative groups in the Fire Nation,' she stopped, but seeing Azumi's pleading stare to know more she added, 'My job is to communicate between all three, seeing as I have the appearance of a Fire Nation civilian I'm capable of gathering intelligence wherever I go. Your uncle is allied with us, I've met him several times, but I assume he never mentioned it.'

'He didn't,' Azumi shook her head, sounding sad but understanding, 'but then I suppose he probably thought it wouldn't be wise to. I haven't always been the best with secrets. Can I see Flopsy now? Please?'

'I'll have someone take you to your pet; I need to speak with Wei Jun. You can share my tent tonight if you wish to stay,' Tyra nodded restlessly, tension seeping into her features, rubbing her temples as she added, 'You'll be safe here.'

'Are you sure? I mean, it's just a bunch of tents, what if the Fire Nation find you-?'

'They won't find us unless someone leads them here,' Tyra said bluntly, 'so you'd better pray to the spirits that you weren't followed.'


	2. Tentative Alliances

**Chapter Two: Tentative Alliances**

Raiden entered the large hut from the back door, his usual entrance. The front door led straight to the teaching space and was the entrance to the healing rooms themselves, so it was frequented with people who he would rather avoid. Not because he didn't like them necessarily, more so because he preferred to avoid the shudders and glares everyone in the tribe seemed intent on giving him. The back door led into the store room and the moment Raiden entered out of the bitter cold he was greeted with the strong scent of ointments, herbs and smoke. This would have been overpowering to many, but he'd become more than a little accustomed to the overwhelming aroma.

Just in front of him, rummaging through the jars on one of the shelves was an elderly woman. As he stepped through the door she turned to look at him and her wrinkled brown face creased into a warm and friendly smile.

'Well good afternoon Raiden,' she greeted him, 'why dear, you look half frozen.'

Raiden returned the smile, 'good afternoon Yugoda, I'm fine, really.'

Yugoda beamed as she pulled a jar off the shelf and handed it to him, 'you're later than usual.'

'Sorry, I had a small run in with Prince Leith,' Raiden explained wearily and Yugoda just sighed knowingly.

'I'm assuming you came away from that one drenched to the core again? Are you hurt?' she asked him and Raiden just shook his head, 'you've been to your hut to change?'

'Yes Yugoda.'

'Good boy. Now, I have a patient who is complaining of severe pains in his belly, I need to mix something up quickly, could you do that for me?' Yugoda asked gently.

'I should be able to. Isn't this something you can heal with your bending?' Raiden accepted another jar from her.

'Not this time, I believe that it was probably caused by something he ate. A quick medicinal remedy should fix him right up. Do you remember the usual mixture for stomach pains?' Raiden nodded and Yugoda smiled, 'good. You prepare that while I quickly go and check on my other patient.'

Yugoda hurried from the room carrying a pewter bowl and a spoon. Raiden was left in the storeroom to put together the remedy which Yugoda had instructed. It wouldn't take him long, he had been taught very well by Yugoda when he had first arrived, once he'd become capable of working. Apart from Yue, Yugoda was the only other person who treated him like a human being. Ever since he had arrived three years ago she had made it her duty to look out for him. She had provided him with his hut, a small structure constructed adjacent to the healing huts, as well as making sure that he always had food and firewood. In return, Raiden worked for her in the healing huts, mainly doing the heavy lifting and the mixing of remedies when she was busy with other patients. It wasn't a lot, but it was at least something that he could do to pay her back for her kindness. That and it helped him to avoid the mind-numbing boredom.

He had just finished when Yugoda walked back in, 'so, what was the cause of Leith's anger this time?' she asked as she took the bowl from him.

'Oh you know, the usual. I breathed, I was within a two hundred meter radius,' Raiden shrugged, 'It's Leith, his hatred of me is reason enough to try to kill me.'

Yugoda seemed understanding, 'I know that. But I'm sure in time you'll prove that he doesn't to be so distrustful of you.'

Raiden just raised an eyebrow, 'you really think so? I've been here for the last three years and he still hasn't figured out that I'm not here to harm anyone. I don't think he's going to suddenly change his mind.'

Yugoda's smile was strangely cryptic, 'You don't know that. Situations can change remarkably quickly. Leith is very quick to judge and make assumptions.'

'I know that. When he first found out I was from the Fire Nation he thought I was a spy or an assassin or something without bothering to ask anything about me,' Raiden sighed deeply, making Yugoda sigh.

'To be fair Raiden I don't think that anyone could have guessed why or how you came to be here. It is a minor miracle that you made it here at all, with everything that you had to go through before you were found. You were three quarters dead when you were brought to me-'

At Yugoda's words, Raiden's head snapped up from where he had been looking through some of the shelves of herbs and he looked around at her, 'Yugoda, please, you know I don't like to talk about that.'

Yugoda nodded, 'I know you don't. I don't blame you either, it would have been absolutely horrific, even if you don't remember most of it.'

Raiden was silent for a long moment, looking back down at the shelf, 'I'm glad I don't.'

Silence filled the store room for a long moment, the only sound being the grinding of the mortar and pestle, before Yugoda clapped her hands softly, 'Well, patients don't treat themselves I'm afraid, did you make up that remedy? Perfect. I have some boxes of herbs out the back which have just been delivered, could you carry them in and sort them for me?'

Raiden nodded eagerly and Yugoda just smiled at him fondly, before disappearing out of the room. Raiden stood still for another moment, relishing the warmth inside the hut, then braced himself and opened the door to the bitter cold outside.

...

Wei Jun was pacing back and forth in Tyra's tent, fiddling with his overlong beard, his entire face filled with irratance and worry. Tyra watched him patiently, knowing that he'd eventually say something, that he'd eventually process this enough to find some sort of course of action. For one of the leaders of the resistance, Wei Jun didn't look like much, he even would seem quite lanky and frail to most. But he was a genius and a master earthbender, who could take down ten men without breaking a sweat. He'd earned Tyra's respect over the years, a long process and a difficult one at that, but it was worth it in the end. She'd actually be quiet when he needed her to.

'...Omashu has fallen, and King Bumi did nothing to stop it,' he said eventually, the frustration seeping into his tone.

'I know Bumi, he must have done this for a reason. He's a genius, he's completely nuts, but he's a genius,' Tyra said quietly, 'We can't do anything until we know the full situation, and I very much doubt that Azumi can tell us everything. The poor girl barely knew what was going on, let alone how to stop it.'

'We need to move out, we're the closest branch to Omashu currently,' Wei Jun said, 'We need to go, find out everything we can, and assist any refugees or resistance that we can find in the area.'

'Wei Jun, the reason we were moving towards the coast was because of rumors of Fire Nation activity. What if we go inland and don't investigate here and miss something big?' she asked, 'The Avatar passed through here not all that long ago, what if they're planning something for him or for some other part of the world and we miss it because we kept such a narrow focus?'

Wei Jun hesitated at that comment, looking down at the teenager who had gained a stubborn look he'd learnt long ago to be wary of. When she got like this, she knew she had a point, and she wasn't going to let it go. He paused, taking a long moment to consider what she had said before he evaluated how much note he should take of it. She may have been little more than a child, but she was smart, and she understood how the Fire Nation worked, she was essentially his deputy whenever she was here. She was a roving agent for a reason, her insights and abilities were too valuable to keep in one place for too long and currently the last month and a half was the longest period of time he'd had access to her consecutively.

'I understand where you are coming from Tyra.. we need to investigate the rumors here, but we still must assist Omashu... If I set you up in this area with enough people on hand to be able to fight the fire nation if needed, but a small enough group to not draw attention of yourself, would you be willing to migrate the coastline for a few weeks until you find something. You could then meet with us in Omashu if you've either found something or you're sure that they were only rumors.'

Tyra considered this for a long moment, her internal mulling over the issue was all too clear, 'Very well Wei Jun, but I shall pick my own assistants, and they must be willing to leave me alone if I ask them to. Some things I can only investigate alone and they mustn't question it.'

Wei Jun sighed, before nodding, she knew how to get exactly what she required and it would be foolish to leave her with anything less than exactly what she asked for. Tyra had once wandered across enemy lines during one of their attempts to liberate an Earth Kingdom town. She had come back with the full battle plans, chain of command and additional details that no one would have thought would be so useful, all within the space of half an hour. It had taken them all of ten minutes to restore the town back to the Earth Kingdom with her information. She was good at what she did, almost too good to believe.

'You shall have what you require for this mission Tyra,' he said officially, making her quirk a rather judgmental eyebrow at him.

'Alright Wei Jun, all though if you don't mind me saying, I do hope I don't find anything,' she admitted.

'I really hope you don't either Tyra. With Omashu being overthrown we have more than enough on our plate without anything else being thrown into the mix,' he sighed.

Tyra looked at him with a sincerely skeptical look on her face as she said quite firmly, 'Of course, but since when are we that lucky?'

...

It was several hours later that Leith consented to go to find Yue, who was in her bedroom on the highest floor of the great Icicle Place. He knew he probably shouldn't have attacked Raiden. He could understand to a point why Yue was so irritated with him. He didn't enjoy it at all but he knew he would have to apologise. It pained him to do so, but she was his sister after all. He wasn't necessarily sorry for attacking Raiden, he was more so sorry that Yue had caught him and that it had upset her so much. He was really going to have to time his angry outbursts a little more carefully.

Very softly he reached out and knocked at the door to her room, 'Yue? Are you in?'

'Go away Leith,' came a slight growl from the room.

'Come on Yue, open the door,' Leith responded.

'I don't want to talk to you.'

'I'm sorry,' he told her, still speaking through the door.

'No you're not.'

'Rephrase, I'm sorry that you had to see that before.'

'But you're not sorry for attacking him are you?'

'...Well... no, but I shall try to avoid doing it anywhere near you in future,' Leith said shamelessly.

Yue opened the door, her usually kind face lit with a glare, 'You are so lucky that you are my brother and I have to love you.'

Leith just nodded, 'that is true. Can I come in?'

'No,' that was when Leith pulled a face so positively and ridiculously hurt that Yue lasted for all of two seconds before saying, 'Oh for god's sake, fine.'

Leith smirked victoriously as he strode into Yue's enormous bedroom quarters which were at least twice as large as his own. He didn't hesitate to move to the armchair, officially claimed as his in front of the fire. Yue simply closed the door quietly behind him and came to sit on her own chair, facing him. For a long moment they sat in a wordless silence, both staring at the flames until Leith eventually spoke;

'You're still mad, aren't you?'

'Leith, Raiden is one of the few people in this entire city who sees the real me, he doesn't see me as just "the princess" or as the delicate girl who needs to constantly be watched over and protected. He's a true friend, I can't see why you feel the need to constantly live in fear of what he might do, just because of the place he was born.'

Leith gritted his teeth in suppressed anger before saying, 'We've talked about this at least a thousand times Yue, you know my reasoning. There's a reason we're warring against the fire nation, they don't have any respect for our culture, our way of life. They wiped out the entire race of Air Nomads, to find one kid who wasn't even there. They removed all of the waterbenders from the Southern Tribe. Ba Sing Se and Omashu are the only cities in the entire Earth Kingdom that remain independent. They are monsters, there is no end to what they'll do to eradicate any culture but their own. That makes me sick to the core. Maybe if he had been just a civilian I could have accepted him, but he was a soldier. He was willing to fight to destroy everything we hold dear and no matter how much he has brainwashed you to sympathize with him, I am not convinced.'

Yue looked away from her brother, every time he made this speech she was forced time and time again to realise how logical it actually was. But all the same, she would never accept it. She didn't know why, but she just couldn't process the idea that Raiden would be out to hurt them. She knew he had been raised to be a certain way, but despite his birth he had shown he was a considerate, respectful individual. Besides, no one, no matter how diabolical, could possibly have been attacked this many times by Leith and hold their temper unless they truly were loyal to the tribe for taking them in.

'I don't like your reasoning Leith, I can understand it to a certain degree but I don't agree with it,' Yue said softly only to be met with his rather careless nod, he had guessed as much, 'What I don't understand is why it was so different when you first found him?'

'I didn't know who he was!' Leith snapped forcefully, 'He could have been one of our own or someone from the resistance or Earth Kingdom. If I'd known who he was I would have left him in the water to freeze, starve, dehydrate or drown, whichever came first! Sprawled across a piece of driftwood, unconscious, hallucinating, starving, sick... so positively pathetic that anyone would have taken pity on him. But that's what made the ploy so brilliant, he could turn on us at any moment and you would be none the wiser-!'

'Enough,' Yue said authoritatively.

Leith cut off, still fuming, anger radiating from him, but he just stopped and asked, 'How can you not see it Yue?'

'I will hear no more of this, stay if you wish but I will not hear another word against Raiden,' she murmured, turning away from him.

Leith remained in his spot but a slight mutter escaped him, an honest question that he knew Yue would never answer, 'Why would you believe him and not your brother?'

...

Azumi laughed as she was nearly taken off her feet by Flopsy who woke almost the moment she approached where he was chained beside one of the tents. The chain around his neck rattled as he bounded forward as much as he could to meet her, licking her on the face affectionately.

'Hello there Flopsy! Who's a good boy? Oh, look at you, you don't like this chain do you? Do you want me to take it off? Yes you do don't you,' she crooned as Flopsy panted miserably.

Azumi stomped on the ground, a small chunk of rock flying up into her hand. She clenched her fist around it, allowing it to mold between her fingers until it formed the shape that she was looking for. A small key lay nestled in her palm, which she proceeded to use to unlock the clamp around Flopsy's neck. Almost at once, the members of the resistance looked around in horror, as if expecting the giant goat gorilla to go on a rampage.

'Don't worry, he's tame,' Azumi beamed at them, just in time for Flopsy to pounce, knocking her to the ground where he proceeded to lick her face.

Giggling, she pushed him off and stood, brushing off her dress before noticing how Flopsy was sniffing the ground, almost mournfully, as if he was looking for someone. Azumi sighed sadly, and ruffled behind one of his ears.

'I know Flopsy, I miss him to,' she said softly, 'Don't worry, we'll see him one day, things will be okay one day.'

'You've got that thing surprisingly well trained,' commented a voice.

Azumi turned to see the girl from before, Tyra, standing several meters away, same examining look on her face, 'Oh, right. My uncle did it, he's always been great with animals… you know you don't have to stand so far back, Flopsy won't hurt you.'

'That's what most people tell me about their animals before they attempt to claw my face off, I'm fine back here,' Tyra said stubbornly but not unkindly.

Flopsy simply rumbled and nuzzled against Azumi's side for a second, before returning to his sniffing. Azumi distracted herself with pulling some muck out of Flopsy's fur, even though this job was usually done by the groomer, she didn't mind caring for the family pet.

'So, you're an Earth bender?' Tyra asked casually, still occasionally eyeing Flopsy warily.

'That's right,' Azumi nodded.

'I'm guessing Bumi was teaching you?

'Yes, he was,' Azumi replied, still distracted by a bur that didn't want to come out of Flopsy's fur.

'Mastered it yet?'

'Not yet. But I'm good enough,' Azumi smiled at Tyra, 'are you a bender?'

'No,' Tyra shook her head.

Azumi couldn't help but turn at this, clearly curious 'How do you fight then? Do you have a weapon?'

Tyra snorted, seeming to find the idea rather amusing before commenting, 'No, completely unarmed combat. I've been told by people of all nations, of all bending capabilities, that I'm the biggest pain in the rear to fight. Guess it's just fair not to make me a bender too.'

Azumi didn't really know how to respond to that, she knew if she wasn't a bender, she personally wouldn't have had much interest in learning to fight. Tyra on the other hand had clearly gone out of her way to learn how to. It really said a lot about a person in Azumi's opinion.

'So you fight unarmed but benders still find you a challenge? Have you ever fought a master?'

'A few of them, but I find it generally best that they don't know I'm there until I strike. The element of surprise is often necessary, if they know the sort of things that I'm going to try to pull then it makes it a great deal harder to hold my ground.'

'What about the rest of the people here? Are they non-benders as well? Do they fight like you?'

Tyra shrugged effortlessly, 'Not exactly, we've got benders, swordsman, people who use every weapon under the sun, even people who can't fight at all but are still useful to our cause. My specific style though was something I came up with myself though, so even the other unarmed combat experts around here have got completely different ways of fighting than I do.'

'You mentioned that you studied Earthbending before though, why would you if you weren't a bender?' Azumi couldn't help but ask.

'Just because I can't bend doesn't mean I can't learn the basic styles, it helps me when I'm fighting benders if I know how it works. Besides, bending is almost a kind of martial art when you think about it. There's this guy I know in the Northern Water Tribe who adapted a whole style of fighting purely from water bending. It's essentially the same it's just without the water, he gave a lot of non-benders something to utilize without having to result to weaponry.'

Azumi's eyes widened at that, before saying, 'Wow… that's really impressive...'

'Look Azumi, not that all this chatting and stuff hasn't been nice but I actually did come over here to talk to you about something specific,' Tyra said, her voice taking on a sudden note of impatience.

'Yes? What is it? Wait, is something wrong? Did the fire nation follow me?' Azumi's voice suddenly became slightly panic filled.

Tyra rolled her eyes, 'No, they haven't. And if they had do you think I would have stopped for idle chit chat? No, I'd be off getting them to decapitate themselves with their own weapons. I came to talk to you about something else.'

'What? Is this about Omashu?' Azumi asked in concern.

'Second times the charm,' Tyra smirked, 'Look, I spoke to Wei Jun, a majority of the resistance in the area is going to head out to see if there's anything they can do to help. Although a few of us, including me are remaining behind.'

'Why are you staying back? I thought that they would want you out there?'Azumi asked sharply.

'Well as useful as I am, I came with the resistance out to this area for a specific purpose, I'm bounced around between all the branches depending on which needs me. The reason we're in this area is because of a few stray rumors that, if they're reliable, I need to investigate further.'

'So what does that mean? Why are you telling me this?'

'You asked why I was staying behind. I'll be going with a smaller unit of the resistance to the coast to investigate the rumors. And to put it bluntly I was planning that you could come, if you wanted to that is. Call it an induction ceremony.'

Azumi frowned at Tyra for a long moment, 'Are you serious?'

'One thing you'll learn about me is I don't say anything I don't mean without the world's most derision infused sarcastic tone,' Tyra put rather bluntly.

Azumi blinked, 'really?'

'Really. Now, are you in or not? Because we're leaving soon and I have to know.'

Azumi hesitated, knowing this could be one of the most important decisions she made in her life. Tyra clearly was on the trail of something important, but at the same time, Omashu was her home, shouldn't that be her priority? Though the back of her mind she felt something that was telling her she should be doing what her uncle had told her, to keep away from Omashu until he told her it was safe to return. She was a bargaining chip in the eyes of the Fire Nation, the next in line for the throne and probably Bumi's closest family. So, despite her desire to return to help her great uncle and her people, she knew what she had to do. She looked up at Tyra, and nodded slightly, one hand resting on Flopsy's head as he sniffed the ground beside her.

'Alright, I'm in,' she announced and Tyra almost smiled, 'just one more question, what exactly are we doing?'


End file.
